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Monday, September 2, 2013

It Starts With Food....

So I feel like one of the only ways I am going to be accountable for this is to blog about it! I am going to do a 60 day "eating healthy" food challenge. It is not a diet, but more a way to stop my cravings for cookies, wine and french fries.

The good news: I work out a lot! I also don't like to lose. I try to run faster than anyone in class, lift heavier weights, do more sit-ups, etc. I am competitive and it isn't a bad thing...It helps me push myself to new levels. I was never able to run a mile in under 7 minutes, even when I played soccer in high school but I can do that now. So being competitive pushed me to a new level of fitness.

Now for the bad news, my food intake. I don't eat thatunhealthy but when I slip, I can't seem to get back on track. A typical day for me includes greek yogurt or a protein shake for breakfast, a lean cuisine or salad for lunch and turkey spaghetti or turkey tacos for dinner. There is not a day that goes by that I do not have chocolate. I LOVE COOKIES! I could be the "cookie monster"! It has gotten to where I feel a need for dessert after lunch and dinner. I have reached a plateau to where no matter how many times a week or how hard I work out I am just not loosing weight or seeing any definition.

I am not fat and I know that. I will never be a size 2 and have small legs. Some things you just cannot change. I am blessed to have a muscular physique (thanks mom) and be evenly proportioned, however I won't be able to work out like I do forever and I know that.

I have been getting stress headaches a lot lately which triggered me to research why I was getting them. One of the causes was an unhealthy diet. Dave and I both celebrated our birthdays this month and have been out of town a few times lately which means our healthy eating regime went completely out the window.

One day Dave and I would like to have children and I want to be in the best possible shape and health when that does happen.

So what is the "healthy eating" plan I am talking about? It is a book titled "It Starts With Food". I read it this weekend while we were camping.

Basically it is a paleo diet which simply means meat, veggies, fruits and healthy fats. I cannot have dairy, sugar or carbs for 60 days. Sadly, that includes wine and cookies. Yes, I may need your prayers. I am not sure I can even remember a week let alone 2 months without cookies. I keep telling myself that this is a good thing, I am not completely convinced yet. I hope to have a couple of abs after my no cookie diet. I took a before photo that I will share with you this week. Hopefully by adding this meal plan with my normal workouts I will have no more headaches and will see some definition in my stomach that as of now never gets leaner.

Thank goodness for Pinterest! I found so many awesome recipes today. My biggest issue is going to be breakfast. I workout in the mornings and get ready at the gym to go to work. I don't have the luxury at the office to cook up scrambled eggs.

I found a recipe for "egg muffins" that I can make ahead of time and stick in the microwave at work.

Egg Muffins

Ingredients:

8 eggs

1/2 cup Organic Turkey Sausage

1/2 Cup Steamed Broccoli

Dash of Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Spray Muffin pan with olive oil. Whisk together eggs and add salt and pepper. Add steamed broccoli and turkey sausage. Pour into muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until fork comes out clean and eggs are fluffy.

*You can mix it up a bit by adding spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, bacon, etc. You can even add cheese if you aren't trying out Paleo.

For my first day of this new way of eating I packed the egg muffins for breakfast with a few fresh strawberries and blackberries. Lunch is a paleo chicken salad (made this with shredded chicken, walnuts, grapes, celery and paleo mayo), peach, lettuce with tomatoes and cucumber and almonds.

I am going to be tested for dinner tomorrow night since we are going out for my sweet friend, Macy's birthday. I am going to have to say no to margarita and chips and salsa. I hope I can hold onto my willpower!! I think if I order fajitas and just eat the meat and veggies I should be ok!

Here is to Day 1! I will keep you updated on how things are going. Don't worry, I won't bore you everyday with my food log, I will still blog about make up and hairstyles and hopefully the smaller size of jeans I get to buy soon! :)

2 comments:

Thanks for the recipe, I did an alternative and sauted the broccoli with garlic and mushrooms... it tastes great! I'm also beginning the Whole30 tomorrow so I had to prep something quick for my mornings... I'm eating salads for lunches and not sure for dinner. I'll figure it out when I get there lol. Good luck!

I don't know if you have checked out paleomg.com. Juli is great and has tons of wonderful recipes. For breakfast, I try to make a frittata on Sunday for the week and some paleo pancakes, but those aren't okay for the Whole 30. Great job!